Superintendent gives State of District report

RANCHO SANTA FE — At the June 3 meeting of the Rancho Santa Fe School Board, the traditional State of the District report was given by Superintendent Lindy Delaney; Assistant Superintendent Cindy Schaub; and Kim Pinkerton, principal of kindergarten through fourth grade.
A vital part of the report are the goals for the upcoming school year.
“Basically what happens for each year, (is) we set target goals to keep ourselves focused and moving forward,” Delaney said. “We basically use the State of the District to evaluate what we have done the previous year, 2009-2010, and then we set new goals for 2010-2011. If we master something then we move onto something else. Some things are ongoing.”
In addition, there are some district goals with two targets — student achievement and high-quality enrichment programs, Schaub said.
“What we try to do is set goals in subject areas of reading, writing, math and science,” Delaney said.
“Next year we continue to improve and spend some time around math,” Schaub said.
This year the staff implemented the North Star program, which gives them direction. Its goal is to implement a districtwide vision of being a student-centered learning community that continuously improves student achievement while engaging students in high-quality enrichment experiences, Schaub said.
The first target goal is seeing that student achievement improves for all students in core academic subjects. Specifically the goal is to have 90 percent proficiency and to advance overall as a district in state assessment tests, with all students demonstrating growth, Schaub said.
The second target goal is to engage students in high-quality enrichment opportunities, which stress the importance of addressing the child as a whole person.
“Enrichment experiences should also prepare students to be 21st century learners and thinkers,” Schaub said.
The staff plans to do this by undergoing ongoing professional development, more effective collaborating planning and determining the needs of students, she said.
They aim to develop a caring schoolwide community within classrooms and across grade levels by increasing positive interactions among students and staff.
Looking back at the past school year, Delaney said she is delighted.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress the students made this year and particularly our staff who have worked very hard and continue to raise the bar for our students in an unwavering commitment to education,” Delaney said. “We are thrilled with our reading and writing programs.”
“I think another strength in our school is our science program,” Delaney said. “This year we had the experience of the ocean science partnership. Our teachers also worked very hard to implement that program and that is a program we will continue to focus on in the future. It could not have been possible without the support of our education foundation.”